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Answer the Call
Answer the Call Emergency! A blaring alarm was sounded at the barracks; or what you'd call the living quarters of the residing Armed Wizards stationed at Fiume di Giglio. Each individual possessed their own Communications Lacrima that activated as their means of remaining in contact with the Council, and by extension, their superiors in charge of the Armed Wizards Division itself. Everyone would get it simultaneously but, knowing Roland, he'd have 'misplaced it' under a pillow or the cot he slept on. Thus, when their Captain rounded them up, he sent Rubie to get him. Banging her fist against the door, Rubie cried aloud with a loud shout. "Roland! Roland get your ass out of bed, we're being called out!" She cried aloud with a seething glare aimed at the door. The last thing she wanted was to keep Constantine waiting. He was already in a foul mood and the thing that could make him angrier was a slacking member of his crew. If she got a shot in on him before he had the chance, it might improve his temperament...probably. "Please get up! Constantine will have both of our heads if you don't hurry up!" She insisted with another rapping of her knuckles against the doorframe. Hearing someone call his name amid all of the noise and shouting, Roland awoke from his slumber, startled. It took him a moment to realize Rubie was the one shouting for him to get moving. He groaned and tried to shake off the weariness that threatened to retake him. Realizing the noise that he heard was an alert, he quickly snapped to full awareness of the situation at hand. “I’m up!” he yelled back over the beeping and buzzing that came from under his pillow where he had stashed his Communication Lacrima. He let out a growl of frustration as he quickly changed his clothes and readied himself for not only whatever emergency loomed but also the likely tongue-lashing his boss would give him for being late. He pulled his signature two-handed sword from the open case on the floor and strapped it to his back. He grabbed his key off the nightstand and opened the door, seeing his partner standing there, just like always, the dependable one of their duo to his slacker self. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s hope the boss man doesn’t kill us for being late again,” he said. “Mind filling me in on what’s going on while we walk, so I can at least look like I’m doing my job?” he asked. Sighing, Rubie crossed her arms as they trotted across town, "Ever heard of The Black Vox? It's a maximum security prison made over four hundred years ago by the Council to incarcerate dangerous criminals that can't be contained or trusted in ordinary holding cells. As of late, they've gotten close to filling capacity due to the no-killing policy of their inmates. Usually, anyone who ends up there stays for life. Only one attempt had been made centuries ago and no one has really had the balls to try again. "Until now," She looked at him with a serious glint in her eyes while her hat mimicked a nervous expression. "The guy who was confirmed as part of the Fiume di Giglio incident and, the destruction of the Seven Towers of Siegete, Faer Pleigh, is leading an operation to enter the Black Vox. There's currently a stand-off going on with the Dark Mages and him with the Vox Warden Wizards. It doesn't look like they'll last much longer..." Roland’s heart skipped when Rubie mentioned Black Vox. The fact that the most infamous prison in Ishgar was connected the alarm filled him with worry. If the prison was under attack, there was no telling what kind of evils could be released back into society should it fall, especially since it was close to overflowing as-is. The idea of some of the most powerful Dark Mages of the era gaining freedom caused him to wonder if the Council had ever imagined such a situation and how to combat anyone to get free. He doubted they had any system in place given how impossible such an outcome was. Hearing the name of the only other person he knew of to fight Jadow without having the power of a Slayer as the one behind the attack caused him to pause. “Wait, you just said Faer Pleigh was behind all of these attacks? You’re telling me that idiot’s actually still alive?” Roland asked uncertainly He was unable to believe what he just heard. Even still, despite never before having a reason to doubt it, he had always questioned what happened in the dragon’s cave, no one had dared to get anywhere near the mountain from which the evil monster reigned over the village, let alone to the cavern where the battle took place. He recalled the man who had once vowed to break the monster’s grip over the people, the man who never returned from Jadow’s domain. Such idealism didn’t turn to criminal nature so easily. He wondered silently what happened to the mage who fancied himself a hero that would make him become a villain. "And apparently, he was part of the Dark Guild led by that nutcase Swartz. He was responsible for aiding in genocide and manslaughter on a grand scale in the town of Fiume di Giglio, now this ups him to being a most wanted man in Fiore if not the whole of Ishgar. A madman like that with ties to the Underworld can only mean he's likely unhinged," Rubie speculated as they quickly trotted towards the other two members of the squad. As they neared them she could only verbally question aloud with her own warranted confusion. "But...why attack a prison like the Black Vox? If he wanted to, he'd probably be able to engage any other Council managed prison with far less difficulty." "Because, like all these assholes, he wants to make a statement," Constantine announced as he visibly crossed his arms and scowled at Roland. Though he made no mention of his tardiness, he wanted to imply he wasn't happy without saying the obvious. Turning to look at Aria, he gestured his head towards her. "Now, Aria, what exactly would be the fastest way to get to the Black Vox?" "I could form a Sailing Barrier that'd allow us to get there in an hour, tops," She proclaimed with a proud smile. "Hmph, I guess that'll do," The begrudged Captain closed his eyes with a sigh of resignation. Turning to reopen his crimson orbs at Roland he couldn't help but scoff as he looked at the pair almost accusingly. "Unless you two slackers got a suggestion that could get us there BEFORE they crack open a prison full of crazy inmates?" Approaching the others, Roland tried to avoid Constantine’s disapproving glare, knowing fully that his tardiness was endangering an already escalating problem. Every second he wasted by sleeping late was another second that they could have spent saving lives. When Rubie asked why Faer would attack the prison, he had his suspicions, but even then, it didn’t seem logical. Launching an assault on the most secure building in all of Ishgar, if not the entire world, struck him as a rookie mistake. Something seemed far too wrong with the whole “I got nothing boss. Besides, Aria’s gotten us places faster than we otherwise could. I hate to say it, my magic isn’t so versatile that I can outdo her Sailing Barrier even if I had something in my Requip that could carry all of us.” he said plainly before turning to his partner. “How about you Rubie? Got anything good in that brain of yours?” Rubie pondered when all eyes were on her. She could feel Constantine's intense stare bore on her while Aria blinked with intrigue and her hat began emitting sweatdrops with a look of desperation while her own visage was composed. Furrowing her brows it only took a minute before she came up with it. "Of course," She palmed a fist with a look of dawning, turning with a smile to look up at Roland then the rest of her team. "The Kingdom of Yasha. It has the ability to open up anywhere within the physical world, even other worlds." "Hold on," The Team leader waved a hand, his face stricken with deadpan disbelief. "The Kingdom of what?" "Yasha. He was the original owner of this hat, and has some affilation with the tools I utilize," Rubie explained as she tucked on her hat, pulling it off her head to showcase its expression disappeared once it left her crown. A smile followed by a single toss into the air, the cone shaped piece of apparel suddenly expanded till it was the size of a tent. With its interior being that of complete darkness it'd remain above them while she explained with a beckoning gesture. "Just stand near me and I'll take you to this place. We'd be at the prison in a few minutes tops." "That's...some weird shit," Constantine warily looked up, almost taking a step back to bore straight into the unknown. "It sounds a bit scary, but exciting too!" Aria beamed with a nervous smile. "Roland," Drake Squad Captain directed his eyes towards the weaponsmaster magician. "Do you vouch for this? These ARE Dark Magic tools she's using. What if something goes wrong-?" "Oh stop being such a baby-" "I'd like someone not completely bias to the use of forbidden enchanted items, Rubie," He sneered, turning his face hard once again at Roland. "If you know anything about this, now's the time to speak up. Either that, or I'll just settle for the long, safe route." Roland watched as Rubie’s hat expanded before his own eyes. If he hadn’t known of the hat’s abnormal dimensional properties, the sight might have actually unnerved him. Instead, knowing that its bearer was on his side, he knew it wasn’t something to fear. Before he could state his opinion on it, Constantine’s question quickly soured his disposition. He glared at his boss, anger evident on his face.“Are you really questioning my partner and my faith in her? So what if her items are a bit on the dark side of things? I trust her with my life," he started, placing a hand on Rubie’s shoulder. “Her tools have saved my ass far more times that I can recall. And judging by how urgent the alert is, I don’t think you have the time to argue the point, so either get your ass over here or start walking. I don’t care which.” he said, his tone indicating he had no desire to debate anyway. "He's got a point," Aria nudged him with a dubious look on her visage. "We're losing time as it is. Might as well take the most expeditious path, right?" "Tch, fine," Constantine shook his head, closing his eyes as he let out a growling sigh. Taking slow steps forward along with Aria, he kept them shut while Rubie smiled. "This better not suck me into some damned Hell..." House of Stillness "Trust me..." Rubie whispered, her hand gesturing above her head, causing the umbrella of linen to fall over them. In that instant they'd feel a dramatic transportation of atmosphere and altitude. What was a rushing torrent of darkness quickly unfurled into that of a stone courtyard with an abundance of floral scenery enamored in a garden and pond down its walkway. Spiraling stairs leading up into the upper terraces of turrets to the main keep of what could seem to be a castle carved out of obsidian, glimmering with an eerie old energy that time forgot. While storm clouds perpetually thundered and crackled beyond the barriers of what could be assumed was a small city's scale of a fortress was a beautiful eye of the storm above them; in the shape of a small planetary body in the shape of a prism, thrumming with life and supplying warmth to the entire dour scenery. "...this isn't the kind of place to be afraid of," Rubie finished with a confident grin, twirling her hat to rest on her head, its own expression being a cocky evil grin. "Oh my," Aria gaped at the wonderous beauty and eeriness all around her. "I've never seen such a place..." "How about that..." Constantine mumbled, looking around till he looked straight up at the enormous prism hovering in the eye of the storm that's wrapped around the entire kingdom. "What the fuck-?" "It's best not to look at it too long," She warned with a sly smile. "It might change your gender if it feels inclined." "It wha-?" "Just kidding," The Armed Wizard pulled a raspberry after snickering a bit. As the hat surrounded the quartet, Roland felt a rush of expertly concealed fear. While he had the upmost faith in Rubie, human nature naturally lent itself to being frightened of the unknown. He felt that the world the hat led to would reveal itself to be alien in both design and in operation, a twisted reality befitting the items that the artifact could spawn. After the darkness faded away, he beheld the alternate reality. Much to his shock and relief, it appeared as normal as anywhere else. That is, until he gazed upwards towards a storm unlike any that could be born in the normal world. What caught his eye wasn’t the raging heavens but rather the strange prism that hovered within. Given that it shed light down to the gloomy and dark citadel, he had to infer that it was a mockery of the Sun itself. Hearing Rubie’s comment that the strange psudo-star could change someone’s gender, he hastily looked away from it’s glare before being informed it was a joke. He shot his partner a proud glance, her sarcasm had improved by leaps and bounds in the time he had known her. He felt like he could take partial credit for it, but in the end, it was all on her. “I hate to be the ass, believe me, but how exactly is being here going to get us to the prison?” he asked. Despite the myriad of questions concerning how such a world could exist, he firmly held the job above his curiosity, especially with what was on the line. "Yeah, where is this secret path to the prison?" Constantine asked dubiously, much to Rubie's huffing chagrin. "You're standing in it," She deadpanned with an annoyed twitch. "Pardon?" Aria inquired with a tilt of her head. "This world, the Kingdom of Yasha, is in complete stasis," Rubie explained as she walked around in a circle, observing their shocked expressions as they turned around and saw nothing truly move. Not even wind seemed to blow, with only electricity dancing between the dark clouded horizon and the crystal remained motionless over the fortress' head. Eyes locked upon Roland as she finished walking around them, cocking a smile as she placed a hand on her hip and waved the other confidently. "Time doesn't move here, only those who preside in it do. You could literally stay here without feeling hungry, sick, thirsty or even aging. One could stand here and never be moved by what transpires in the outside world." "Such a place...exists?" Aria gawked, looking at her hands and realized she hadn't felt even the urgency to breathe. Only her own instincts kept her operating as normal. "I feel as if I could become a statue if I remained still for too long." "This place reeks of wrong," Constantine stated, closing his eyes before snorting, his arms crossed over his chest. "But, it'll suffice. You said there's a door we can use to exit to the prison?" "Mhm," The witch replied with a nod, gesturing for them to follow her as she walked towards the spiraling stairs leading up to one of the tall spyres of the castle. Roland felt the wrongness of the world around him moreso than he had observed it. Despite that, he couldn’t explain what was wrong until Rubie mentioned how the world around them was stagnant and still. Even with the storm raging overhead, he felt nothing shift or change. He shuddered as the realization that while within the alternate world, fundamental logic of reality went out the window. After a second, something clicked in his head. “It’s like a Requip world. Only we’re the tools here, waiting for release.” Although for a moment he was tempted to introduce one inversion of causality to another, he stopped himself from attempting it. He had heard stories of ill-fated attempts at creating such recursions using far simpler teleportation magics. As fun as the concept sounded in his head, there was too much of a risk. As the gang began climbing the stairs, he casually smirked at Constantine. “Don’t worry boss, if ya get scared, I’ll just carry you.” he said teasingly. "Shut your trap, you ass," Constantine replied with an annoyed snort. Their journey took them up into the tower, circling up the stairs within the darkness that smelled of ancient memories and old masonry. Despite that, nothing seemed too dusty or need of maintenance. The structure itself seemed well kempt, something that the Captain made note of. "Nice little castle ya got here." "The servants certainly are dedicated-" "There are people living here?" Aria gasped with surprise with what Rubie declared. "Of course," She answered with a smile, turning to wink back at her taller comrade. "They've been here since Yasha was still the Witch King over a thousand years ago. They'll tell you all sorts of stories about the age of gods, before dragons ruled the earth and that man was relatively wild; untamed and without any unification." "Why didn't we see them?" "Because, they don't know you. They've never seen an outsider for ages, so naturally they'll steer clear of you, even in my presence," She explained as they continued to walk up, the flight of stairs seeming to go on longer than the tower looked tall from the outside. Just as it seemed it'd be well over an hour in their ascent, something that the growling Captain impatiently mentioned in inaudible fashion, they reached an old door that had no door handle, but a key hole made of platinum. Without any visible gesture, a ring of keys appeared in her hand and she flipped through what looked like hundreds of them. When she found the right teeth, she inserted it and twisted it to the right, the left, in a clockwise fashion for five seconds and then a slight tilt to the left. Watching it spin back into place, she pulled out the key and a chiming latch was heard unsealing, allowing her to push it open. Revealing an open space with granite tiles painted in red and black in the shape of a hand with a purple eye in its center. That was the floor...there were no walls. Only an endless space full of doors that were held up by an unseen force, like clothes in an infinite closet. They ranged in color, shape, substance and craft. Every one of them possessed no handles of their own but the same kind of key hole on each one. "Welcome to Entrance of Infinity; where every door can lead to any place of our reality," She introduced with a dramatic spin and smile at the space that left Aria speechless and Constantine blinking with his own brand of shock. Neither had seen the kind of world she was showcasing them; another reason to make them wonder what she was capable of. "What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?" Roland allowed himself a small laugh as the group made their way onwards. He had to take what he could get since Constantine’s reactions were so absolutely deadpan. Despite being used to such dry retorts, it made any attempt at harassing the leader all the more hilarious to him. At the mention of there being servants in the castle, he paused and took further note of his surroundings, realizing that everything seemed so clean and cared for. He didn’t doubt that the servants were around since the days of the original Witch King, the world’s magical nature probably allowed them such long existences in the first place. Knowing as little of it as he did, he believed that such assumptions had merit, but he made a note to ask Rubie for specifics later. As they ascended the stairs within the tower, the swordsman realized that no matter how long they walked, the tower was yet taller than his mind could grasp. Although he had no estimate of time, if time indeed existed in any capacity of this world, the size of the tower from outside belied the enormity within its walls. He simply assumed that it was part of the world’s reality, such that even what started as a simple task was nothing more than the alien physics that comprised the Kingdom of Yasha. When they finally reached the end, he was about to ask how to open the door before he saw his partner twist and turn a key multiple times before the door swung open, revealing their destination, a room, if it could be called such as it was more akin to an otherwise empty void, full of yet more doorways. His reaction was a mix of shock and humor. “Cool is an understatement! It’s downright amazing that you can have something like this at your fingertips.” he replied, looking around the space they stood in, his brain trying to process that something could functionally teleport them to anywhere in the real world in mere moments. "The Witch King still has many secrets I've yet to discover," She replied ominously, though smiling despite herself at all the reactions she was getting. Knowing even though time was still in this void, they needed to make haste regardless. The nature of their mission was crucial for them to accomplish. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and the hat mimicked an expression one of composure. Kneeling down on one knee, she placed a palm upon it and began to chant aloud in words none could understand. The eye on the floor lit up and the thuum radiating within the hall began to cycle the doors as if they were revolving planets around a star. Each one cycled was pushed aside and turned away for another, one strange in make while another incredibly familiar. Then, a door of complete onyx with near crystal in make was lowered in front of them with a loud thud. Rippling like water as light touched its surface, the substance would be impregnable to anyone's touch. As soon as the ritual was complete, Rubie rose up and smiled with victory at the gateway available to them. "That material isn't a real door," Aria stated almost with an obvious air to it. "It's the same material as the barrier substance used to construct the Black Vox," Constantine evaluated, recognizing the image from the few times he delivered crazed lunatics to mad men with magical prowess to that eerie prison. Turning to look at his subordinate with a wry grin, he leaned forward and almost whispered in question. "How did you have a door that happens to be made up of such a construct?" "Don't ask me, ask the man who built this place and these doors years before any of these destinations were invented," She countered timely, smirking as he let loose a dumbfounded expression. Giggling she turned to walk up to it and turned the keys around till she found one of the same substance. Using the same combination as before, the door peeled back and Sunlight petered through the cracks as they'd witness a straight vertical drop to the ground below...as well as an ongoing battle of magic happening just beyond the horizon. "Just a fair warning, when we exit, we will enter back into the world of time and motion. You'll feel a bit jarred but it'll pass shortly after. Take this in mind so you don't do anything stupid the moment you expose yourself to what is certainly our enemies." Roland stood with his arms crossed as he watched Rubie manipulate the doors through the sigil on the ground, searching for the right one. Doors zoomed around, rearranging their patterns with incredible ease. He caught glimpses of some made of strange materials that he had never imagined could exist, some made of wood and some of steel, but none of which he imagined being the door to the Black Vox. A sudden thud of a door meeting the floor broke his concentration. The abnormal substance that the portal was made from gave it an alien appearance that belied its purpose. He had no idea what it actually was until Constantine said that it was akin to the barrier around the prison. He felt himself tense up, itching to get into the thick of things and to halt perhaps the biggest attempted jail break in the world. The fact that there was such a doorway was of no consequence, he had expected there to be something. After all, the castle was crafted by a powerful mage and existed outside the flow of time, nothing it could offer surprised him anymore. When the door was opened, revealing the battle in the distance and a straight drop down, he simply smirked and prepared a landing strategy. “Anyone want to go first?” he asked, gesturing to the open doorway. Seconds later, he answered his own question. “No? Okay then.” With no warning, he jumped through the doorway, feeling the rush of wind on his skin as he descended. Mere moments before impact, he activated his Armorize, shrouding himself in the scarlet armor he dubbed the Crimson Nova. “That was fun!” he shouted, grinning like a fool underneath the gray faceplate Rubie couldn't help but gawk. Even as she warned them of the consequences of rushing out into the open, her partner in crime just leaped out like an idiot. Worse, as she summoned her broom and flew casually out, she saw that he was nothing more than a speck below the floating monolithic structure. He had free falled to the ground with no idea that the enemies weren't there, but airborne. Sighing she ran a hand to caress the bridge of her nose while her hat mimed a squinting expression of shame. Her headache was only added as she heard Constantine step out of the portal and then fell faster than a cartoon character. Aria had a timely creation of her Sailing Barrier, hoisting the nauseous leader onto it from the jarring sensation of falling out of the doorway.Just as they rose up, the door closed, just in time for Rubie to let out a loud groan. "We're DOOMED and the mission just STARTED!"